Judgments of a Woman's Emotions: The Influence of Observer Attitudes1

The influence that observers' attitudes toward lesbians have on their judgments of a lesbian target's emotional display was examined. In Phase One, college undergraduates' attitudes toward lesbians were measured. In Phase Two, 185 subjects returned and viewed a videotape in which a female target described as a lesbian, a novel individual, or a heterosexual, responded to an interviewer's questions regarding her recent romantic breakup. The subjects then judged the appropriateness of the target's display of 11 emotions. Contrary to predictions, attitudinally negative subjects evaluated the Lesbian target as highly appropriate. The potential applications of this result for social psychologists interested in examining the contact hypothesis, as well as for outgroup members themselves, are discussed.